{"id":2061,"date":"2022-09-18T15:18:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-18T13:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/benz-books.com\/blog\/?p=2061"},"modified":"2024-03-27T01:07:29","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T23:07:29","slug":"mercedes-r231-sl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/benz-books.com\/blog\/2061\/mercedes-r231-sl\/","title":{"rendered":"Mercedes R231 SL, traveling in style for two"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Mercedes R231 SL: With the new SL, Daimler-Benz continued a tradition that began 60 years ago with the 300SL Gullwing<\/a>. With each new generation, cars like the SL became safer and more comfortable, but often heavier. For the first time, the R231 was made almost entirely of aluminum and weighed up to 140 kilograms less than its predecessor, the R230<\/strong><\/a>. Its all-aluminum bodyshell provided the basis for agile, sporty handling coupled with excellent roll characteristics and ride comfort.<\/p>\n\n\n

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What set the R231<\/a> apart from other high performance cars was its style. First, the car was well-proportioned, even rakish, with just the right mix of aggression and beauty, a sporty stance, a pointy aero nose, and vents everywhere. When new, it was a real head turner, which is a big reason why people spend over a hundred grand on a car. From the long hood to the compact passenger compartment to the short rear overhangs, it is obvious that the Mercedes R231 SL<\/a> was another successful introduction in a long line of large Mercedes roadsters.<\/p>\n\n\n

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There was plenty of room to feel comfortable on longer trips<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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Already The V6 offered plenty of power<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In addition to being cleaner in design, the new SL also came with more grunt. The SL350<\/a> offered 306 hp with a maximum torque of 370 Nm (273 ft-lb), while the SL500<\/a> jumped with 435 hp to 700 Nm (516 ft-lb). It was also fast, going from 0-100 km\/h in just 4.6 seconds (the SL350 managed the benchmark in 5.9 seconds). On the other hand, it was just as happy in the city as on the highway.<\/p>\n\n\n

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It proved to be a good mix between a comfortable cruiser and an all-out sports car. Standard equipment included a semi-adjustable multi-link suspension, although you could specify the highly desirable ABC (Active Body Control<\/a>) air suspension if you wanted better body control. But even the standard setup was a decent enough system that did an impressive job of gliding over bumps and undulations, while retaining enough stiffness to make easy work of corners. Still, ABC brought out the best in the Mercedes R231 SL.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The latest generation SL also benefited from a higher level of equipment than the R230. Included or optional were <\/p>\n\n\n\n